It's not that it isn't important that students have computers in their classrooms. Students with access to technology will naturally be better at using technology than students who don't. But just putting computers in classrooms doesn't mean that they will be put to use well. Frequently, computers are used as an appendage to a physical library, or as a word processing tool. These are good uses for computers, but they don't really teach students about the participatory culture that exists online - the participatory culture that they will be expected to take part in as adults. In fact, many students are already taking part in participatory culture, and they're bored by uses of computers that don't incorporate it! 

The New Media Literacies lay out what we consider the core cultural competencies and social skills that young people need in our new media landscape. We call them "literacies," but they change the focus of literacy from one of individual expression to one of community involvement. They build on the foundation of traditional literacy, research skills, technical skills, and critical analysis skills taught in the classroom. If these New Media Literacies are learned - and they can be learned without computers in the classroom - they can form the building blocks for students' participation in new media. 

Play: the capacity to experiment with one's surroundings as a form of problem-solving. Having a strong sense of play can be helpful when you pick up a new piece of technology that you've never used before, when you're trying to write an essay and your outline isn't functioning as you'd hoped, and when you're designing anything at all, from a dress to a web page to a concert's program.

Performance: the ability to adopt alternative identities for the purpose of improvisation and discovery. Being able to enjoy performing can help you when you're exploring online communities, when you're trying to decide what actions are ethical, and when you're shuffling between home, work and school.

Simulation: the ability to interpret and construct dynamic models of real-world processes. Understanding simulation can help you understand innumerable complex systems, like ecologies and computer networks - and make you better at playing video games!

Appropriation: the ability to meaningfully sample and remix media content. Understanding appropriation - and when appropriation is and is not appropriate - can help you understand literary works, music, and art; it can also help lead you to a deeper understanding of copyright and cultural clashes.

Multitasking: the ability to scan one's environment and shift focus as needed to salient details. Being a good multitasker is required in our new media landscape - and that includes learning when it isn't good to multitask.

Distributed Cognition: the ability to interact meaningfully with tools that expand mental capacities. That can mean something as simple as using a ruler or calculator, or something as complex as efficiently using Wikipedia on your iPhone to answer simple questions.

Collective Intelligence: the ability to pool knowledge and compare notes with others toward a common goal. This ability is key to open source projects.

Judgment: the ability to evaluate the reliability and credibility of different information sources. If you're worried about your students using Wikipedia at inappropriate times and taking everything they read on the internet as gospel truth, you're worried that they aren't exercising good judgment. But judgment also includes knowing when sources are appropriate for your use: for instance, sometimes Wikipedia might be the appropriate resource to use. 

Transmedia Navigation: the ability to follow the flow of stories and information across multiple media. Anyone who needs to do fieldwork needs a good understanding of transmedia navigation - how to follow threads through video, still photography, written work, music, online sources...

Networking -- the ability to search for, synthesize, and disseminate information.

Negotiation -- the ability to travel across diverse communities, discerning and respecting multiple perspectives, and grasping and following alternative norms.

Visualization - the ability to translate information into visual models and understand the information visual models are communicating.